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Volume 11, Issue 4 (3-2022)                   cmja 2022, 11(4): 330-345 | Back to browse issues page

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Sistani Karampour N, Bagheri M J, Khorsandi L S, Dehghan Mohammadi Z, Salehcheh M, Honarmand H. Investigating the Safety of Bee Pollen on Performance, Oxidative Stress, and Histopathological Changes in the Liver, Kidney, and Pancreas of Rats. cmja 2022; 11 (4) :330-345
URL: http://cmja.arakmu.ac.ir/article-1-829-en.html
Investigating the Safety of Bee Pollen on Performance, Oxidative Stress, and Histopathological Changes in the Liver, Kidney, and Pancreas of Rats
Neda Sistani Karampour1 , Mohammad Javad Bagheri2 , Laya Sadat Khorsandi3 , Zeinab Dehghan Mohammadi4 , Maryam Salehcheh 5, Hooman Honarmand2
1- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Marine Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
2- Toxicology Department, Pharmacy faculty, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
3- Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
4- Diabetes Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
5- Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Toxicology Research Center, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. , maryamsalehcheh@gmail.com
Keywords: Bee pollen, Oxidative stress, Liver, Kidney, Pancreas, Histopathology, Rat
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Introduction
Bee pollen is one of the natural compounds, and its effects have been studied in traditional medicine in the last decade. Bee pollen contains carbohydrates, fiber, lipids, essential amino acids, and flavonoid compounds. The anti-inflammatory effect of bee pollen is due to flavonoids, phenolic acid, phytosterols, and substances such as anethole. The features of this material included the capability to eliminate the swelling caused by cardiovascular and kidney damage, protection of the liver against carbon tetrachloride, and reduction of inflammation and enlargement of the prostate.
Another therapeutic use of bee pollen is the inhibition of lipid peroxidation after the use of chemotherapeutic drugs. Consumption of pollen or its extracts has a strong antioxidant effect and protects the liver and small intestine against damage caused by some toxins.
In previous studies, this substance has had several pharmacological effects on improving memory, anti-anxiety effects, anticonvulsant properties, and healing gastric ulcers in one day with multiple doses. Therefore, the effective dose has been selected by reviewing previous studies. On the other hand, toxicological studies on bee pollen seem necessary and significant due to the lack of studies on the toxicity of bee pollen on health or body organs. Hence, in this study, we decided to evaluate the safety of bee pollen on function, oxidative stress, and histopathological changes in rats’ liver, kidney, and pancreas. 
Methods 
In this study, the bee pollen was extracted by the soaking method. Then, 14 Sprague-Dawley male rats (weight range: 200-250 g) were randomly divided into two groups (7 rats in each group). Group 1 (extract group) received bee pollen hydroalcoholic extract at a single dose of 800 mg/kg intraperitoneally, and group 2 (control group) received normal saline at a single dose of 0.5 mL/100 g intraperitoneally.
One day after the extract injection, the rats were weighed, and the blood sampling was performed directly from their hearts. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr), α-amylase, AST aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) tests were performed using a Pars Azmun test kit with an autoAnalyzer. A piece of tissue was isolated for pathological tests and stained (hematoxylin and eosin), and another piece was isolated to measure tissue biomarkers of malondialdehyde (MDA) with thiobarbituric acid reagent and regenerated glutathione (GSH) test by the Ellman method. The collected tissues were mixed with a phosphate buffer with a mixing homogenizer to perform tissue tests and then centrifuged, and the supernatant was taken. The supernatant was used for malondialdehyde tests with thiobarbituric acid reagent and regenerated glutathione test by the Ellman method. Then, the concentration of tissue malondialdehyde was expressed in µmolf/g tissue, and the concentration of reduced glutathione was expressed in mmol/g tissue. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software. 
Results
Serum ALT (a) level decreased in the group receiving extract compared to the control group, but this decrease was not statistically significant. However, serum AST levels in the group receiving extract showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (b). There was no statistically significant difference between tissue biomarkers in the liver, including MDA and GSH (c and d), in the control group and the group receiving extract (Figure 1). 

Serum BUN level in the extract group was significantly reduced compared to the control group (a). However, the serum Cr level increased in the extract group compared to the control group, which was not statistically significant (b). MDA renal tissue biomarker in the extract group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (c), and GSH renal tissue biomarker (d) was significantly increased in the extract group compared to the control group (d) (Figure 2).

There was no significant difference between serum levels of α-amylase in the extract group and the control group (a). Also, no significant difference was observed between the level of tissue biomarkers, including GSH (c) and MDA (b), in the control group and the group receiving the extract (Figure 3).

Histopathological studies of tissues indicated no significant difference between the control group and the extract group in all tissues of the liver, kidney, and pancreas, and practically all tissues were healthy and had no damage caused by the extract. 
Discussion
 In this study, the weight of internal organs was evaluated as a percentage of tissue weight index, and the results indicated that pollen was not toxic on the studied tissues. 
Kidney biomarkers were examined. The BUN amount in the extract group was significantly reduced compared to the control group; however, no significant change was observed in the Cr, indicating the protective and antioxidant role of pollen. The amount of malondialdehyde (MDA) in kidney tissue was measured, and it was observed that the amount of MDA in kidney tissue in the extract group was significantly lower compared to the control group and the amount of tissue glutathione which is an antioxidant, increased in the group receiving the extract compared to the control group in the kidney tissue. Liver biomarkers were also measured, and there was no significant difference between the two study groups on the level of ALT enzyme; however, AST enzyme was significantly reduced in the extract group. The current study indicates that consuming the hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen does not have a detrimental effect on liver hepatocytes, and it can even play an influential role in treating liver problems by reducing AST (20). Additionally, a review of previous studies confirms the protective effects and non-hepatotoxicity of this substance. Liver tissue biomarkers (MDA and GSH) in the control group and the extract group were examined, and no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. In this regard, the studies demonstrated that bee pollen could play a protective role. In pancreas biomarkers (α-amylase) and tissue biomarkers (MDA and GSH), there was no statistically significant difference between the extract group and the control group, which indicates no harmful role and damage of this substance to the pancreas. Histopathological examinations of liver, kidney, and pancreas tissues in this study indicated no significant difference between the tissues studied in the group receiving the hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen and the control group. No toxic effects were observed in the studied tissues.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study is the result of Mohammad Javad Bagheri, a doctoral dissertation in pharmacy. The cost of this dissertation has been paid from the credit of the research plan approved No. B-97055 of Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences and with the ethics code IRAJUMS.ABHC.REC.1397.049.

Funding
The costs of this study are provided by the credit of the research project approved No. B-97055 of Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences.

Authors' contributions
Working with animals and observing ethics in working with animals and supervision: Neda Sistani; Doing laboratory work: Mohammad Javad Bagheri; Pathology tests: Liasadat Khorsandi; Working with laboratory devices: Zeinab Dehghan Mohammadi; Study design, project supervision, data analysis and writing the initial draft of the article: Maryam Saleh Che.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.


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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Medicinal Plants
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